Melbourne Eyecare Clinic (MEC, formally UMeyecare)

Since the newsletter report last year, some things have changed in the clinic and some things are the same. All our final year students graduated at end of 2019 and so we are welcoming a fresh set of OD4s into the clinic. Each new group that we welcome brings with them different sets of skills, challenges and rewards.

At the beginning of the year, MEC’s three principal Clinical Teaching Instructors (CTIs), Tim Martin, Maria Bui, Joe Wang and myself (Daryl Guest) sit down to map out what we should concentrate on with the new cohort entering clinical placements at MEC. As well as the usual reinforcement of clinical skills with patients, we have been trying to get the students to be able to present their clinical finding in a more logical, interactive and time efficient way. We are using the model of ISBAR (Identify, Situation, Background, Assessment and Recommendation) as a guide.  The students are trying to improve this important skill of presenting clinical findings, and we are seeing improvement.

As happens all too frequently in building projects, the previously-announced move of the clinic to 200 Berkeley Street has been delayed. We are likely to be moving after Easter. The new layout and some of the consulting rooms fit out is looking very good as we are moving from design to prototypes. It will be sad to leave the space that has served us well, but the MEC staff are looking forward to having an even more functional layout and to being in much better proximity to the rest of the Department.

The main challenge for the clinic in the early part of this year has been COVID-19. By the time you read this, the literature will have further evolved. We have been able to take the students along with us on this journey. The students have been delving into the literature, evaluating the responses from Government and eyecare organisations, and learning how to apply an evolving, sometimes contradictory, knowledge base to the safe running of a large primary-care clinic.